They Did It! So Can You!

Barbara Hovsepian and Sylvie Meyers raised $10,500.00 to sponsor a home for Fuller Center for Housing Armenia’s 10th anniversary. By seeking donations from friends at St. Leon Armenian Church of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, as well as donations from family and friends across the country, they were able to reach their goal of providing for one house for a FCHA approved family in need in just a few months.

Barbara has been a team leader with Fuller Center for Housing for many years. Sylvie had expressed an interest in going to Armenia, a country she had read and heard about.

Last September, a team of eight traveled to Armenia. Barbara, her husband Leon and sister Rose Berry, Sylvie and Michael plus her sister in law Michele who came from France. Lois Wolfer and Peter DeLeonardo completed the team. They were proud to be a part Armenian and part non-Armenian group.

The first-time visitors fell in love with the country. For them, it was a transformative experience not only helping a family finish their home, but communicating without knowing the language, laughing, sharing meals, a festive farewell luncheon with the FCHA partner family, at times limping home tired or covered in white plaster after a day of sanding. They felt that they had become part of a special community, and that a very special bond had been created.

Visits around the country, long conversations with members of FCHA deepened their appreciation of a region they didn’t know. They came home committed to extend this extraordinary experience beyond the trip itself.

Upon their return, each one wanted to continue helping and doing more. When they heard about FCHA’s 10th anniversary campaign with a goal of raising enough money to sponsor 10 homes, Sylvie and Barbara decided to jump right in and set up a donor page on FCH’s website. Generous friends pitched right in and now one of those 10 homes has been fully sponsored.

They decided not to stop there and are in the process of raising funds for a second home.

Sylvie always says: “With passion, you can move mountains! In this case, we are building homes for people who have waited many years to have a real roof over their heads, something we take for granted”

Barbara will keep her donor page open knowing that more gifts will be given by family, friends, and those who want to help a family in Armenia achieve their dream of a decent, safe, affordable home.

You can do the same. Go to www.fullercenter.org and set up a donor page. Contact friends and family and spread the word. Some will give a lot, some will give a little, but all will be partners in helping a family that is struggling to have a simple, healthy home in which they can raise their family.

Let’s work together, as Sylvie and Barbara did, to give one more family the home of their dreams.